Tenderless Night

A woman is murdered in her home shortly after her husband takes out a large insurance policy. Her husband is an assistant district attorney and the cops quickly catch the killer (a hobo); but the insurance company is suspicious and hires New Orleans Private-Eye Lucien Caye to look into the matter. More

A woman is murdered in her home shortly after her husband takes out a large insurance policy. Her husband is an assistant district attorney and the cops quickly catch the killer (a hobo); but the insurance company is suspicious and hires New Orleans Private-Eye Lucien Caye to look into the matter. It turns out even the police are suspicious of their easy solutions of the case, which puts Caye between the police, the DA’s office and the truth.

O’Neil De Noux writes in many genres, primarily realistic crime fiction, strong on setting, mostly New Orleans, featuring the accurate dialogue of the streets. He also writes scintillating erotica. His publishing credits include 15 novels, seven short story collections and over 300 short stories.

A primary theme in De Noux’s fiction is the effect of violence on victims and their families as well as the sometimes debilitating effect of violence on law enforcement officers, private-eyes and their loved ones. As a former private-eye and currently a police investigator, De Noux knows his subject well.

O’Neil De Noux’s “The Heart Has Reasons” (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, September 2006) won the Private Eye Writers of America’s prestigious SHAMUS AWARD for BEST SHORT STORY 2007. The SHAMUS is given annually to recognize outstanding achievement in private eye fiction.

In 2009, the Short Mystery Fiction Society awarded the Derringer Award for Best Novelette to another Lucien Caye story, “Too Wise” by O’Neil De Noux (which appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine’s November 2008 Issue). The Derringer Award is given annually to recognize excellence in the mystery short form.

De Noux’s novel JOHN RAVEN BEAU was named the 2011 Police Book of the Year by police-writers.com. The website police-writers.com is comprised from a group of more than 1,100 current and former police officers who also write professionally and have published more than 2,300 books.